After 10 and a half amazing years at Chelsea, this legend leaves. His service was priceless.

Thank you Mikel!!!

After 10 and a half amazing years at Chelsea, this legend leaves.

Just curious, how do people define the term 'legend'? Because personally, I wouldn't call him a legend.

@Juan: agree, I wouldn't call him legend either. A long life valuable player and that's all

Such a hardworking player, I remember how good he was when he was 20, just when he came to Chelsea. Always underrated, but never underperforming. Shame that he didn't reach top peak, he looked really promising when he came to Chelsea.

Man, if you are able to stick around at a club like Chelsea for a decade, you're worth something. Maybe not a legend, but certainly more a part of the club than those we would call legends.

Bye Felicia !!

LOL @Marcus.

Of course he's not a world football legend, but in his 10 years at Chelsea, he's helped us win 10 major trophies. His 10-year service alone is legendary. Smh, you can't be that stingy with your appreciations.

For sure I want Brana out asap because he's utter garbage, but let's not forget what he's done over his lengthy stay when he does leave.

I hope people will remember him for more than the guy that Jose got on the pitch when he wanted to park the bus.. Farewell sweet prince!

@KTB Lol.

But seriously, I agree with Eden17, 10 year at a club no matter how good or bad you were warrant at least a tiny bit of respect in my opinion. Even more so if you were a legend but you still deserve some if you gave a big part of your life to the club and its fan. ;)

Great 4 minute summary and highlights of his career for those fans who are more appreciative.

exactly his career was 4 minutes long worth of highlights .. honestly , the guy was completely awful and I still don't understand how he outlasted many players .. but maybe something has to do with sporting director

@Eden: you don't have to react like a little girl and throw out passive-aggressive statements just because someone doesn't agree with you. He was here for more than 10 years.. fair enough, I appreciate his service. But how many managers did we have in that period? 12? Was he ever a undisputed starter under any of those managers except for a 6-month period under Hiddink in our worst season in the 21st century when the usual starters underperformed? Pretty sure there's a reason for that. Mikel is the definition of bang average. I dare you to find even one single standout attribute for him. He's strong, that's about it. Other than that he doesn't have the vision, he's slow, he can't pick a pass (except for easy sideways passes, that is) and even though he's a defensive midfielder, he can't defend. This guy is so easy to pass by, even Willian would do a better job at this position. All you have to do as an attacker to dribble past him is slightly changing the direction of your run. One guy in this thread said that he is "such a hardworking player". I disagree. He's one of the laziest player I have ever seen. I don't remember one single situation where he tried to chase someone who managed to dribble past him. Players like Totti, Lampard, Gerrard - those guys are legends. Players who were not only part of a club for a long time, but also put in world class performances week in, week out. A player who stayed 10 years at a club, but spent 85% of the time on the bench not so much.

@Juan

Woah, wasn't expecting this. Easy, easy. We just have different definitions of 'legend,' that's all. I respect your opinion.

I think, despite I never really liked him when he was at Chelsea I always thought that he was a vital part of our team. He wasn't a very consistent player and as has already been said he was more or less a bang average player who would have spasmodic brilliant performances which helped coaches of the past keep faith in him and was able to perform well when he was needed when a lot of the other players were not on form especially the second half of last season. He went in and out of favour with all the different coaches over the years but having been shown trust by Roberto Di Matteo his finest moment came in 2012 in Munich, when his discipline in midfield protected our defence and helped us to claim our first Champions League trophy which showed that when the pressure was at its highest he could perform. Over all his years at Chelsea he made 372 appearances which certainly deserves a good send of. Thanks for every thing Mikel!!

This guys is a legend, just because he didn't score alot of goals or made alot assists doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve the legend status, he was at chelsea for a decade and never complained, he was always ready when we needed him and he was a great cdm.

For the people disrespecting him are idiots.

well said Chelsea8

@Chelsea8 Nice show of respect. +1

It doesn't matter how well you've played, how many important goals you've scored or how many times you've said the day. Loyalty is a value I rate very highly.

Mikel has played 374 games, always playing 26 or more games every season (all competitions), except this season. For him to drift around the first XI for ten straight years, without complaining or saying a word against the club, like chelsea8 mentioned, shows his loyalty and involvement. As a die-hard fan of a club, unlike the general football fans, you find outside this forum, I value my club's players for who they are, as well as what the bring to the pitch.

A 10-year service of loyalty is legendary. Especially in the footballing world. Needless to say, I don't need everyone else to feel this way. It's just how I see Mikel.

To me it was a failure of our club to identify quality players . That area where we always lacked smart , strong , energetic , world class player was often occupied by Mikel .. Big club should think big . Juventus has versatility of players in that role we had simple Mikel ..

I am thankful for his services but I AM SO RELIEVED THAT HE FINALLY LEFT !! My god this man stopped many players from graduating into that position and his contribution to that club fits into that 4 minutes highlight ! Goodbye and I won't miss him by one bit and if any of you are going to miss him then I am sorry but in my eyes you are either lying to yourself because you want to look like a hardcore loyal Chelsea fan to a player who was complete shit or simply delusional .

@Marcus2011 Well, of course if you look at player like their are asset to your club and not human being giving his time and passion into the team, then of course what you say make sense. But anybody who think like that have to be superficial to a certain level in my opinion, sorry if this sound a bit offending. However, to me, football is more than that, there must be a connection between the player and the fan, a love is given when playing for a club for a long time, no matter how much you earn in the process. Calling other people who actually respect someone for his loyalty delusional isn't really a nice show of respect to your fellow Chelsea supporter. Seriously, you are entitled to your opinion, just like other are entitled to their. Making it sound like anybody who doesn't dislike a player who played a long time for your club like you are isn't a nice show of respect toward other people opinion. Its like saying you know better than them and that their opinion cannot be right at same time as you. Its a real shame. :(